About Literacy Workstations

Teachers physically section off the classroom into learning centers, or workstations, that cater to a specific learning style of a skill or concept. Each literacy workstation contains different materials that help students address that specific skill.

Background

Howard Gardner, Harvard teacher and scholar, professed that intelligence is often narrowed down to a one-dimensional facet. He postulated that people can exhibit intelligence in at least eight different areas, which correspond to styles of learning. The concept of literary workstations caters to this idea, because each workstation appeals to a specific learning style.

Subject Matter

Literacy workstations can be applied to any content area, whether it is language arts, science or history.

Language arts

In the language arts classroom, literacy workstations can consist of a newspaper and non-fiction section, poetry section and a computer section.

Science

Using the literacy workstation method, a science lesson on botany could branch out to other disciplines to teach the life cycle of plants. For example, students may observe the soil in one center, and another center may encourage a creative writing assignment on the uses of plants in the field of medicine.

Elementary versus Secondary

Elementary teachers usually assign students to a particular literacy workstation based on learning aptitude, whereas high school teachers encourage students to explore every workstation to increase critical thinking skills.

References

• Learning Centers: Tips and Advice
• Mrs. Pierce Classroom Website: Literacy Workstations
• Howard Gardner: Multiple Intelligences and Education